Sky Diver Makes Highest Jump Ever

Austrian Felix Baumgartner broke records for the highest jump ever, leaping from roughly 128,000 feet. Baumgartner landed in a remote area outside Roswell, N.M. after jumping from a capsule carried to the stratosphere by a helium balloon. Photo: Associated Press.

By

Robert Lee Hotz

Updated Oct. 14, 2012 7:06 p.m. ET

Austrian pilot and sky diver Felix Baumgartner set a world record Sunday for the highest parachute jump, safely landing after leaping from a capsule carried by a helium balloon to an altitude of 128,100 feet, some 24 miles up.

He also broke the sound barrier during his free fall, as he had hoped, reaching a velocity of 833.9 miles an hour—about Mach 1.24—mission officials said. He apparently failed to break the record for the longest free fall.

Parachutist Jumps From Space

Mr. Baumgartner was seen on a screen at mission control on the day of his jump. Stefan Aufschnaiter/Red Bull/Reuters

Riding a red and white parasail, Mr. Baumgartner, 43 years old, touched down on a patch of scrubland near Roswell, N.M. He landed on his feet, then dropped to his knees and pumped his fists in triumph, after breaking the jump record that had stood for 52 years.

The previous high-jump and free-fall records had been set by Joe Kittinger, who jumped safely from a balloon from an altitude of 19.5 miles in 1960.

Mr. Baumgartner's ascent Sunday on the 55-story-tall helium balloon took more than two hours and set a record for the highest manned balloon ascent, the mission organizers said Sunday. The previous highest altitude for a manned balloon flight was 113,740 feet, set by two U.S. Navy aerialists in 1961.

The jump, sponsored by the Austrian beverage company Red Bull, had been postponed twice in the past week due to high winds. On Sunday, a minor heating problem with the protective face mask on Mr. Baumgartner's pressure suit had mission controllers briefly worried they might have to abort a third time.

The balloon launched Sunday from Roswell at about 11:30 a.m. Eastern time. Onlookers cheered. Mr. Baumgartner's mother wept as she watched it rise.

When he reached the planned jump altitude, he popped open the capsule hatch and unbuckled his seat belt. "Sometimes you have to go up really high to understand how small you are," he radioed as he balanced on the narrow step outside the capsule. "I'm going home now."

Then he let go of the hand rail and stepped off the thin edge into space, where the air is so thin and atmospheric pressure so low that unprotected body fluids bubble and blood boils.

For just over four minutes he tumbled in free fall. All told, he fell 119,846 feet before his parachute opened. His main parachute opened about 16 seconds or so short of the record of 4 minutes 36 seconds for unassisted descent.

Felix Baumgartner plans to ascend to 120,000 feet in a stratospheric balloon and make a freefall jump rushing toward earth at supersonic speeds before parachuting to the ground

The daring high-jump took about five years to organize, with Mr. Baumgartner's first training jumps starting in 2009. Red Bull hasn't disclosed how much the project or its related advertising campaign cost.

All of the record-breaking times and distances have yet to be officially verified by the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale world governing body and other independent organizations.

Data were collected by computer chips embedded in Mr. Baumgartner's pressure suit and sensors in his chest pack. Mission engineers and scientists also tracked his ascent and descent with instruments aboard the balloon capsule and also with radar and optical tracking from the ground.

They hope that their findings will lead to safer space suits and more effective astronaut escape systems.

Earlier

On Sunday, Mr. Kittinger, now a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, served as the communicator between mission controllers and Mr. Baumgartner in the capsule, patiently talking the parachutist through a checklist of 40 items the before the jump.

Mr. Kittinger verified the last of the safety measures and ensured that the capsule had properly depressurized. He paused and then radioed, "Our guardian angel will take care of you."

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.